Clothes-return device for ironers



March`3() 1926. 1,578,369

F. R. ROBISONv CLOTHES RTURN DEVICE Fon normas Filedl sept. 12 1922 2 sheets-sheet 1 March 30 1926.

1,578,369* F. R. ROBSON v K CLOTHES RETURN DEVICE FOR IRoNERs Filed-f sept. 12 1922 `2 sheets-Sheet 2 Pieiea haar. so, 192e.

UNITED STATES ERAN'IKILJII R. ROBISON, OF GLOVERSVILE, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO .ASHER MANU- v PATENT'J orrics.

FACTURING COMPANY, OF IRVINGTON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW.

JERSEY.

cLoTiiEs-RnTURN-nnvion Fo'R rRoNERs. Y

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANKLIN R. RoBisoN, a citizen of the United States,`residing at Gloversville, Fulton' County, New Yfoilr,

have invented certain new and useful Im-` provements in Clothes-Return Devices vfor Ironers, of which the followingis a specilication. v t

The present invention relates to `a clothes vreturn device adapted to be associated with automatic ironing machines of they typel wherein the pieces to be ironed are fed in at one side of the machineV and delivered at the opposite side. Y

to facilitatethe return from thedeliiery to the feeding side of the ironing machine,

of pieces that must be passed through the machine more than once.

At the present time, many laundiies are doing vfamily washes by the "no mark or individual bundle method. According to this method the family washes are run through themachine individually one after the other.

The heavier pieces, usually, must be run through theironer a second time in order to thoroughly dry them.v Usually the heavy pieces of each wash are run through the iron er `first, and then these pieces' are returned to the feeding side of the machine to be run through again, the lighter pieces being passed through the machine between the first and second rims of the heavier pieces.: Thel present invention compieliends a device 'foi' returning the heavy pieces from the delivery to the feeding-side of the machine. Heren` tofore, iii some instances, mechanical ymeans have been employed for so transferring the conveyer is employed forthis purpose,`

This conveyer extends under the ironing machine, takes power to operate and delivers the clothes to the feeding end in more or less wrinkled condition.

feeding end of the ironer isl obliged to straighten out vvthese returned pieces before they can be again passed throughthe ma-v Tlie principal object of the invention is to provide an improved and simplified device This is also true of the chute method so that thel operator at they chine. Further-more, the conveyertypeof device insome instances returns the clothes to the feed trough at the feeding side of the ironer and it frequentlyhappens'that'the` operatoi'forgetsto take these clothes out of e the trough and feed them to the ironer, with the result that the pieces of the various washes become mixed. vIt has been proposed to vprovide a return conveyer disposed .overV from the machine with the 'result that vthe etliciency of the ironer will be lowered.'

The present invention comprehends a return clothes device adapted to be applied to` iroiiers already` constructed or to new ironers.

Essentially it comprisesza carrier mounted' y forreciproc'al movement,` at the'will of theoperator, from one side ofthe ironer to the other. .[ii its present preferred formithevde vice consists` of a troughflike receptacle which extendsthe full width of thelironer and `is Vmountedto be swung,..at the .will of the operator, from one siderofthe ironer to.-

tion to receive the piecesras they are dis-l charged. Tlie arrangement is such that the 'pieces collectin the carrierunwrinkled, in Athe forinof accordionfpleating. After all the heavy pieces forming part of themixezl singled family waslrhave been .received in kthis manner, the. coiiveyer is moved out of the way of thejoperator at the delivery side and the light piecesfthat require oliily one passage thi ough the'ironer are operated on. After -all these light.` pieces have been fed into the ironer, theladened carrier is moved to the feedingv end of the-ironer and the operator takes the heavy pieces therefrom and again feeds them into-the ironer. 'As the pieces have automatically folded themselves into theA carrier, scarcely any labor isi required to remove them .from the carrier and .insert them at the 'feeding end of the ironer. In the form of the' invention 4delscribed herein, the carrier is mounted toA Other objects and features of novelty will 2 of a Wellflrnownironingmachine as isrnecessary to illustrate the application'of this f invention theretoyit being understoody that this particular machine is shown merely for kthe purpose of illustration. VThe invention is applicable to ironingl machines of the gen-f reral type Vwherein the pieces to be ironed are fed in at one side and discharged at vthe.

other. f i y,

Referring tothe drawings, the numeral 1 indicates one of the side frames of' the ironing machine which rotatably support the ycylinder 2, the. various .rollers which carry the endless 'apron 3V and other parts 'i ofthe 'ironer. The pieces to be ironed are placed in a lfeeding trough or receptacle.' from Which they are taken by the operators` and placedupon the feed tapes 5 'of the ironinginachine from whence they pass between the apron and cylinder. The pieces are carried down between the cylinder and apron in a counterclockwise direction as r viewediin `Figure 17 and travel around al i most thejfull'circumference of the cylinder 'to the point 6, Where the pieces arey dotted from .the cylinder and taken.v around the roller 7 and'on to the upper run of apron 3 to the dischargepoint 8 whence they drop onto the table 9; The operators aie-i'isually stationedat both sides of the machine, some to feedtlie articles to the ironer andothers to foldland remove-the pieces fr'onrthe del livery table 9. j Y

As previously stated,.\vith the individual bundle method, it lis necessary to keep the pieces of the individual Washes together.

.Sonie of these pieces, however, are so heavy that they Will notbe dried byv one passage through the ironer. The present invention comprehends meansV for transferring pieces from the delivery side to thefeedng side of the ironer. In the embodiment of the invention illustrated, a carrier in the form of a. shallow receptacle 10 is mounted for movement tothe position 10L at the delivery Side of the ironer Whereit is in position to receive therpieces as they are delivered from the apron. `In falling from the points 8 into the carrier, the pieces automatically fold themselves in the -forin` of-v accordion 'plez'iting so that there is no :W'rinkling or crumpling of the pieces. heavy pieces-.have beenreeeived inthe car-V After all of they are then fied through, the ronerv and after all of these have been supplied to the machine, the carrier 10 is movedy to position -lObshoWn in dotted lines at the'feed'ing side of the ironer. VTheoperators then take the heavy pieces from the carrier and feed them to the machine for a second passage therethrough. As'the* pieces in the carrier are folded and unu'rinkled7 it is an easy matter for the operators to takev them from the carrier and place them on the feeding tapes 5 of the ironer. After all of the pieces have been fed from the carrier7 it is moved away from'v the feeding side of the ironerand other Washes are started through the machine. f i

`One method of mounting the carrier is Yillustrated in thel drawings,v this being at the present time the preferred construction. As shown, a shaft 11 is rotatively lmounted at the top of the iroiier substantially `parallel to the axis ofthe cylinder2, being; carried in bearing blocks 15 mounted on brackets 16 secured to the side fran-ies 1;l Rigidly secured to thisA shaft 11 are a pair of spaced arms lll Vfrom the ends of which is suspend. ed the carrier'lO. This may be accomplished by providing the carrier at its ends, with bales 12 pivotally securedto ythe lower ends oflinks 13 which in turn. are pivoted to tne arms 14 adjacent the `free `ends thereof. For a purpose presentlyv to be described the arms "adjacent their free ends are, provided with a plurality of spaced holes 14a in any one of which the bolt 13a mayv be' placed fol," pivotally securing the links 13 to the arms 14. It is desired to-coiuiterbalance the carrier 10 so that it will normally occupy a position such as, illustratedinV full lines in Figure 1 Yor the dotted line position indicated at 50 in Figure 1. For this .purpose a Weight 18 is provided carried by the arn'i 17 secured to ,the Shafty 1 1, this ufeight being positioned -diametrically opposite the arijns 1d. Preferably this Weight slightly iore than counterbalances the receptacle 1f() and itsv supportingl parts, so that when the receptacle is loadedythe iveiglzit, vwith the aid of a push from the operatonwvill move the carrier from the position 10 to the full line position Shown-in Figure L Means is. prmfidedy to, hold the carrier in nok any desiredY position., In the forni of the l invention shown this is accomplished by means of 'a brakenormally applied to prevent rotation of theshaft 1,1. Thus a d rum4 22 is rigdlysecured tothe shaft 11 at one end of the ironer andV band 23 passes around the same, one end; of this band being fixed to` a bracket'25 secured to the standard Y 16 andthe other end being secured to afl) lever 24 pivoted on a pin 26a carried by the angle piece 26 secured to the bracket 25. Means is provided forv normally applying the brake. For this purpose in the form ot' the invention shown a weight 24a is mounted at the free end of the brake lever Y 24. For the purpose of permitting an operanected tot-he brake ar1n'24 asat 2T?. .It

desired, this brake arm may be provided with a plurality of apertures 24h to adjustably receive, the upper end of this link 27.4

The other treadle 29 is carried on a plurality of arms on a roclr shaft 31, the end arm 81 extending vby the shaft 31 and constituting a lever, the inner-end of which is provided with a slot 311? receiving the pivot pin 27d, Vthus connecting levers 31"L and 30a :to

the lower end of link 2T. Thus when either of the treadles 28 01'29 is depressed, `the brake arm 2i will bei-raised ,releasing the brake and permitting movement of thel carrier 10. Although a specific type of brake mechanism has been described, it is` to be understood that y other y might be employed for controlling the movement of the carrier. i Y g For the purpose of permitting the carrier to be pulled from its overhead position to either side of the ironer, flexible connections such as indicated at 19 and 2O may be prosy vided, the connection 2O being secured to the upper end of one of the arms 14 and passing around an overhead pulley 21. vThe connec- V tion 19 is secured to the free end of one of the arms 14C and passes around an overhead pulley 21EL from whence it depends to a position accessible to the operator at the deliveryside of the ironer.

In the operation of the device, usually the carrier occupies an overhead position such as illustrated in full lines in Figure 1, being held in this position by the weight 18 and the normally applied brake.V Vhen the operator at the delivery side of the ironer desires to lower the carrier for the purpose of ieceiving the heavy pieces which must be run through the ironer a second time, she steps on the tieadle 28, thereby releasing the brake, and then she grasps the carrier 10 and pulls it down to the dotted line position 10a. If the carrier had been in the position illustrated in dotted lines at 50, she would have first pulled the carrier to her side of the machine b i theA .iiexible connection 19.

.5 After the carrier has been moved to the posiforms of devices tion 10*L the treadle is .released whereu son the brake is applied, to hold the carrier in this position. It is now in place'to receive the piecesl as they are delivered from Tthe ironer. The rollers Ll0 and 41 of the ironing machine are adjustable horizontally 'to the right to takel up slack` in the apron iso that thecarrier-lO should yalso be `adjustable Y* l kto 'the right.4 Thevarious apertures 14a in ythe arms 111l are vprovided :for this purpose.

Afterv all the heavier pieces ofthe individual wash 'have passed through ythe -ironer 'and' vfolded themselves in the carrier 10, the ,opei'atoi releases `the brakel whereupon the weight 18 raises the carrier to the full line 'i position shown in Figure 1."y 1f the weight is not heavy e'noughtoaccomplish this, the

operator givesthe carriera slight upward push.v Theoperator atv the fceifling side of the machine continues to feed in the light pieces of the wash and after these have all ben fedtothe ironer, s lie Vsteps on the treadle 29 thereby releasing Vthe brake and by pulling on the flexible` connectionV '2O swings the carrier 10 to her side of the ironer l where she can pull it down to thev position 10b.

When the carrier has assumedA this.r position, the vtreadle 29 is'released whereupon the brake automatically 'applies itself `and holds the carrier against displacement.-

The heavier pieces are now taken frointhe carrier 10 and fed through the ironer for a second time. Afterall of' these heavy pieces have been supplied to the ironer, the operator steps on the treadle 29fwhereupon the brake is ieleased'and the carrier automatically swingsto the dotted line positionO.

Although the invention has been described in detail, it is to be understood that it is not limited to theeXact construction shown but includes modifications and changes which' the scope of the appended side of the ironer to the other, including yan arm pivoted on a transverse axis and extending above the ironer, and a carrier freely suspended from the outer end of said arm on an axis parallel to the pivotal axis thereof. y

3. The combination with an ironing ma.-

chine having feed and delivery sides, of a carrier, andA means supporting 'said Ycarrier so that 1t maybe swung over the machine and down intopositions adjacent said feed.

les

and delivery sides,faiid kmanually controlled means'for holdin'gsaid carrier in anyapesition to which vit may be'moved and Jfor swinging said carrier' to'e'itliei side of the machine. Y y ll. flhe Combination with' an ironing.- ma- `chine of the kind described, lof afeariier,

swing between said" arms,

releasing-saidmeans.

means supporting said. carrier so that it may be ,sv-:ung y.overt-he"machine vandto either sidev thereof, a brake foij holding thecarriei" inwany pos-itionwto Whiehf it may loef` nio-ved,

and means for releasing;said'ghrake operable f from either side oi' saidimaehine.y

flhe'coinl'jination with an ironingina-A chine-of the kind described, of carrier,

means s upporting sai-idf carrier so thatiit 'may he swun over the -machine and downon either; side' thereoih lmeans fon 'eitherf side wei' the machine "for swinging said carrier fto thatside, a normally applied'braliefor iold- Vin'gtheearrierin any position,and Vmeans for releasing-said brake ioperahleiiom either 'T The combinationiwith anl ironing machine o the'llnd described, "o'a' carrier extending along the width of thev machine,

parallel Az ain'isrfpiif'oted tothe l 'frame off the maehine to turn vahouta transverse faxis, linis: suspending said carrier? from theoutei' ends otsaidarms so that' said earriervmay swing between said arms Jfrom one side of the machine vtov the ether, `normally applied means for holding said'arins inany"r` position, and Xmeansoperablefrom eithei14 side of the maehinefor 'releasingfsaidmeans Q The:combinationWithr an'ilroning machine of the li-indid'eseribed, ofra carrier-extending along the Width of the "machine,

parallel f arms piynted; to 'the frame ofthe machine rtonituin i about a transverse-fairies, links suspending said cariler'fioin the outer ends oi said arms so" thatsaid 'carrier' may swing betweenrsaidai'ms ii'om "oneside of theniachinef to the-othenand manually con` t'iolled "means for 'operating' `said arms to swingV said vcarrier ftoj either? side` of the;l machine at tlie Will of thefoperators on theres'iee-tiVe-'sides V' v5). The combination withan irenfing'rina- Q chine joi" the kind f'deseiihed, of f a "carrier, parallel; arms piie'tedtothelfrgainelof the machine to turn lahoutaitransyei'selanis,

links suspendingsaid?earrierfirom the outer.- ends of'sai'd-iaiins sethatj said earlier-'may 'swing between saida'rins'fiom.one side Vof the maehine tothe other,"manual'ly controlled mea'i'is iler y'operating -v said arms, means tendingltofhold lsaidarms in any position, i and meanfopeifahle freineithei'fsdef "of the machine f releasing =saidholding means. 'f 'n f j 'In testimony whereof here-unto aiilxnm'y signature. Y

FRAN-mim'n.*nenis'oii 

